According to the terms of the agency contract, although Zhen Cheng is Xuan Zhixia’s agent, he signed the work contract for Xuan Zhixia without his presence, knowledge, or consent. Xuan Zhixia is entitled to deny it, and he would be in the right to file a lawsuit.
But the problem is that this involves more than just contracts.
Earlier, when the original owner and his agent were discussing marketing strategies, they had a verbal agreement—if resources came to Xuan Zhixia after their marriage was exposed, Zhen Cheng could decide to sign the contract first, as long as it wasn’t too unreliable.
After all, if you miss it, you might not get another chance. Moreover, since a contract has been signed and there is a penalty for breach of contract, even if Shang Shuji is dissatisfied later, Xuan Zhixia can use “it’s already signed” as an excuse.
The second season of “Travel Diary with Parents” was a resource they tried to capitalize on during their marketing process. Since such a resource actually came knocking on their door, Zhen Cheng naturally followed the previous verbal agreement and signed the contract for Xuan Zhixia without delay.
—If Xuan Zhixia denies such a verbal agreement and shifts all the blame to Zhen Cheng, it’s at least legally permissible. The penalty for breach of contract due to his not participating in the children’s variety show won’t fall on him.
However, even with the verbal agreement between the original owner and Zhen Cheng, Xuan Zhixia now lacks the thick skin to walk away unscathed with a clear conscience. Moreover, although Zhen Cheng is an unreliable agent, he has been dedicated to his work since signing the original owner. The original owner didn’t have much money, and this online marketing campaign cost a lot, with Zhen Cheng covering the bulk of the expenses and handling the actual implementation.
At least for the artist “Xuan Zhixia”, Zhen Cheng, the agent, is dedicated… but the direction of his dedication is not quite right.
”What?!” Zhen Cheng exclaimed in shock.
He didn’t expect that Xuan Zhixia’s first reaction, instead of being excited or happy, was to ask about the penalty for breach of contract.
Zhen Cheng coughed twice quickly, clearing his throat: “Wait, wait, Zhixia, what do you mean by that?”
Xuan Zhixia was much calmer: “Brother Zhen, it means exactly what you think, I can’t go.”
”Zhixia… This is a rare opportunity! What’s wrong with you? Isn’t this the perfect opportunity we’ve been waiting for? Otherwise, why would we go through all this trouble!”
Zhen Cheng’s mind, which had just been overwhelmed by immense joy, cooled down and became a mess.
”Is there a problem with the Shangs? Are you worried they won’t let you bring child on the variety show? But this was only recently exposed, and you just received the news. Don’t give up right away; the penalty for breach of contract is substantial! You should at least try harder and negotiate a bit more!”
Zhen Cheng thought for a moment and then said, “The Shangs are willing to let you marry Shang Shuji. They will definitely agree to let you take the child on a variety show in the end. Just say that this is the last time and that you will never do anything under the name of the Shangs again… Anyway, after this, even if you don’t mention it again, everyone will know.”
Xuan Zhixia was in poor physical condition and was always lazy, which led to him developing a leisurely and unhurried personality.
Zhen Cheng was excited and anxious, and his words were hurried and incoherent. Xuan Zhixia did not interrupt him. He waited until he stopped before slowly and deliberately saying, “Brother Zhen, I am not well received by the Shangs, and I don’t get along with those two children. The marriage has already exhausted our goodwill. The Shangs will not tolerate me any further, and they will not trust me to bring the two children on a variety show.”
Knowing the original plot well, Xuan Zhixia was not as “optimistic” as the original owner.
Zhen Cheng: “This…”
Xuan Zhixia’s tone was too calm, carrying an unfamiliar air to Zhen Cheng, while also having an undeniable quality, making Zhen Cheng unable to say “Try again” for a moment.
“But…” Zhen Cheng felt overwhelmed, and even the contract he had just gotten his hands on wasn’t so appealing anymore. “Zhi Xia, the penalty for breach of contract is just too high… It’s my fault too, I got too excited. I should have told you beforehand, or at least calmed down and checked my phone. I didn’t answer your calls… When we signed the contract, I even argued for a higher percentage of your pay, but now it’s backfired, and the penalty for breach of contract has skyrocketed…”
Zhen Cheng couldn’t stop sighing. Xuan Zhixia didn’t follow suit with his bitter expression. Instead, he calmly said, “It’s alright. Tell me, how much is it exactly?”
Zhen Cheng wiped his face: “Eighteen million.”
Xuan Zhixia: “…”
Zhen Cheng explained, “The ‘Travel Diary with Parents’ will be filmed for a full month, thirty days. Although you are not a big star, you have a lot of hype. The production team originally offered you a salary of 200,000 yuan per day, but I negotiated it down to 300,000 yuan. That means you can earn 9 million yuan before tax by appearing on this children’s variety show. In addition to this salary, the production team will also provide some subsidies for clothing and food.”
”Of course, if you don’t participate, there’s no need to mention subsidies. The penalty for breach of contract is based on your salary, double the amount.”
Such a number forced Xuan Zhixia to slightly distort his composure.
He looked up at the sky and thought it would be better to die again.
Let alone his current state of being penniless, even if he had been able to earn money in his previous life, he wouldn’t be able to come up with such a large sum of money. How could he possibly make a living?
Even if the currency is Zimbabwean dollars, he can’t come up with that amount of money right now.
Zhen Cheng: “Zhi Xia?”
Xuan Zhixia sighed softly, “Brother Zhen, I’ll shamelessly try to contact the Shangs again… If they come looking for more resources, I won’t sign them.”
Upon hearing this, Zhen Cheng, feeling guilty and short of breath, replied, “Yes, I understand…”
Putting down his phone, Xuan Zhixia began to seriously consider countermeasures.
If he could earn nine million in salary, and give each of the two kids, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, three million, could he bribe them into agreeing to participate in the children’s variety show?
The way Shangs raise their children is contradictory; they are both strict and lenient. If the two children themselves are willing to go on the show, it will be much easier to persuade the rest of the Shangs.
The problem is that these two children, only four or five years old, have been placed in a business environment. They don’t lack money or good things, and they have no concept of numbers like millions. Compared to the “acceptance of bribes,” the two children’s rejection and dislike of Xuan Zhixia are more obvious.
Indeed, even stepfathers have a hard time.
Xuan Zhixia remained calm and collected, showing no intention of reflecting on his actions.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were at kindergarten and not at home, so Xuan Zhixia couldn’t do much. Moreover, after thinking for a while, he got a little tired, and sitting outside for too long wasn’t comfortable either, so he stood up and wanted to go back inside.
Xuan Zhixia paused for a moment as he turned to the side.
The garden has several entrances and exits, one of which is an antique-style moon gate. A person appeared there at some point, with bright eyes and sparse eyebrows, wearing a black shirt and trousers. He stood quietly, and it was impossible to tell how long he had been watching Xuan Zhixia or how much he had heard.
And unfortunately, that person’s surname was Shang and given name was Shuji, who was Xuan Zhixia’s nominal “husband” at the time.
Seeing that Xuan Zhixia had discovered him, Shang Shuji’s indifferent expression remained unchanged.
He spoke slowly and deliberately: “Bring Jingqi and Jingshu onto the show? Forget about it.”
After speaking, Shang Shuji turned and left, his demeanor refined and elegant. The chain of his gold-rimmed glasses swayed gently with his movements, making the helmsman of the Shangs appear like a refined and virtuous Confucian, revealing no trace of his inherent coldness.
Shang Shuji left just like that, without mentioning why he happened to appear at the garden gate, or asking about the massive online revelations.
Xuan Zhixia: “…”
Before he could even begin to break through, he was blocked. Xuan Zhixia pondered for a moment, wondering if robbing a bank would be faster.
But with his physique, he couldn’t even lift the money bag when robbing a bank.
Back indoors, Xuan Zhixia followed his memory upstairs to his room.
A while later, Chen Ma knocked on the door with fruit, and Xuan Zhixia realized why Shang Shuji had been at the garden entrance.
”The master went abroad on a business trip a few days ago and just got back. He hasn’t had a good rest and needs to rest at home for half a day. He has to go to the company in the afternoon… It’s a pity that the young master and young lady went to school, so they won’t be able to see master today.”
Chen Ma placed the fruit plate next to Xuan Zhixia, hesitated for a few seconds, and continued vaguely, “Zhixia… just now when the master came back, his assistant was with him, and they were reporting as they walked that… you and your agent had made some noise online… Weren’t you in the garden just now? The master was going to pass by there on his way back to his room, did you run into him? There was no conflict, was there?”
The Shang family residence occupies a large area, with six detached villas of varying heights and sizes, but the family is small. Not counting servants, there are only six people in total: Shang Shuji’s parents, Shang Shuji, his two children Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu, and even the annoying “new wife” Xuan Zhixia. Each person has their own villa and they can all live comfortably.
Two of the houses are quite close together, namely the one where Xuan Zhixia and his two children live now, and the one where Shang Shuji lives alone. They are separated by a large garden and a moon gate.
It seems that Shang Shuji happened to see Xuan Zhixia sitting in the garden when he passed by the Moon Gate.
But… what was he thinking, lingering there and staring at Xuan Zhixia for a while?
Xuan Zhixia couldn’t figure it out, and he didn’t have the energy to think about it; he was still worried about the 18 million yuan penalty for breach of contract.
…
Back in his bedroom, Shang Shuji took off his glasses.
He spends most of his time sitting at his desk and has developed mild nearsightedness. He doesn’t usually need glasses, but he does need them when his eyes are tired from using them for too long.
After taking a shower and changing into his pajamas, Shang Shuji lay down on the bed to catch up on sleep.
However, I had something on my mind and couldn’t fall asleep for a while.
Shang Shuji simply got up, poured himself a glass of water, and walked to the window.
Looking out of his bedroom window, he could see the garden between the two buildings. The garden had a greenhouse, a gazebo, and an open stone table, where Xuan Zhixia had just been sitting.
There was no one left in the garden at this moment.
Shang Shuji withdrew his gaze, looking down at the ripples in the water glass, lost in thought.
On the way back from the airport, Shang Shuji was supposed to be working on a document, but he hadn’t rested much beforehand, and as he looked at it, he couldn’t resist the drowsiness and fell asleep without realizing it.
Not only did he fall asleep, but Shang Shuji also had a rare dream in the car.
I dreamt of Xuan Zhixia.
This is unbelievable.
Even more unbelievable is that the Xuan Zhixia in his dream is almost the same person as the Xuan Zhixia he knew before. Even though they have the same appearance, their temperaments are completely different.
In the dream, although the environment was dark, it was magical that Shang Shuji could “see” Xuan Zhixia, who was moving in the dark, through the darkness, and the air he smelled was unsettling.
Xuan Zhixia moved slowly through the house shrouded in darkness, not knowing why the lights were off. He finally managed to find a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, took a small sip, and then sighed softly, “The last one…”
Xuan Zhixia put down the mineral water and groped his way back to bed. However, he had only been lying down for a short while when his pale face suddenly looked even worse. His slender fingers gripped the thin collar of his pajamas, and his black hair, which blended almost into the night, was covered with cold sweat.
Xuan Zhixia initially bit his lip, but soon began to breathe rapidly, looking as disheveled as a soft animal caught in a downpour, or a flower battered by wind and rain in the forest. Shang Shuji couldn’t help him and could only watch as Xuan Zhixia closed his eyes as he struggled to breathe.
Immediately afterwards, Shang Shuji, who was still sitting in the car, opened his eyes, paused for a few seconds, and realized that the scene that seemed to have happened in real time was just a dream.
”Sir, there’s a new development with Mr. Xuan.” A few minutes later, his assistant, seeing that he was awake, wanted to report in a businesslike manner.
Shang Shuji was still pondering why he had such a dream when he raised his hand to interrupt his assistant.
After pondering for a while without reaching a conclusion, Shang Shuji continued to look at the document he had been working on before falling asleep.
It wasn’t until they returned to the store and got out of the car that Shang Shuji remembered and asked his assistant, “What did you say about Xuan Zhixia in the car earlier?”
The assistant was a little surprised.
He had initially thought that Shang Shuji had interrupted his report because he didn’t want to hear about Xuan Zhixia, but he never expected that Shang Shuji would take the initiative to ask about it.
”There have been some comments circulating online, and I had someone investigate them while I was still in the car…”
After the assistant finished reporting, Shang Shuji happened to walk to the vicinity of the moon gate in the garden. After taking a few more steps forward, he saw someone in the garden out of the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, he recognized Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia was on the phone, holding it to his ear. His face, which had been weak for many years, was still pale, but calm and composed, unlike the one he saw in his dream, who was full of suffering and covered in cold sweat.
Perhaps because the other person on the phone was talking more, Xuan Zhixia listened for a while without saying a word, and didn’t seem to be in a hurry.
Shang Shuji couldn’t help but frown as he read this.
Although the Xuan Zhixia before him was different from the one in his dream, Shang Shuji did not have the strange thought that “they are not the same person.” However… compared with the Xuan Zhixia before, who was greedy for money and power and relied on the favors of the previous generation, Shang Shuji still felt that the other party seemed to have become a different person.
Shang Shuji stood by the moon gate and gestured for his assistant behind him to leave first.
He remained alone, openly observing Xuan Zhixia for reasons unknown, and listening to him make a phone call.
Xuan Zhixia calmly told the person on the other end of the phone, “I’m not well-liked by Shangs,” and “This marriage has exhausted all our goodwill…”
Shang Shuji suddenly found it amusing, thinking to himself that Xuan Zhixia wasn’t some brain-dead idiot after all. If that’s the case, why did he insist on joining the Shang family knowing he wouldn’t gain anything?
A corporate spy sent by a competitor?
That means their business acumen is rather low.